Samsung picks up the tablet baton

Paul Withers says the imminent release of the Galaxy Tab S has put the manufacturer in a position to challenge Apple for tablet supremacy

Tablets are not something I have ever got too excited about. You can therefore imagine my doubts when I travelled to New York for the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S.

Within seconds of getting my hands on it, those doubts drifted away and made me quickly realise that Samsung is ready to go head-to-head with Apple.

Since the release of the first iPad in 2010, Apple has dominated the market. As it has done with the iPhone, it has done a great job convincing its fans to buy the products. Times are changing though.

The Galaxy Tab S is an impressive product. Samsung has made a lot of noise about the screen, and rightly so. It has also partnered with numerous brands to deliver content straight into the hands of users. With people looking for more feature-rich content, it’s a very good move.

Samsung has emerged as the only challenger to Apple.

Sony Mobile unveiled the Xperia Tablet Z at Mobile World Congress in February, but appears to be focusing more on its Xperia Z2 smartphone.

Nokia has had a go with the Lumia 2520 but the fanfare has died down. Lenovo and ASUS are popular IT brands but little is known about them in the tablet space in the UK.

Recent market-share figures show the tide is turning. Apple has been slipping whilst Samsung has more than doubled its own to 22 per cent over the past three years. It demonstrates that iPad users are switching allegiance. With the release of the Galaxy Tab S, that trend will only get stronger.

Samsung is well known for its huge marketing budgets and delivery of campaigns. After all, it has largely driven the sale of more than 200 million Galaxy S smartphones since the product line’s debut in September 2010.

If Samsung continues to execute this strategy, and bearing in mind it could be another few months before a new iPad is released, we may see Samsung ruling the tablet roost this time next year.